The Traveling Professor
By Heidi Sarna
I recently had a chat with Steve Solosky of The Traveling Professor. We found each other online a few years back and bonded over our shared passion for small-scale travel and quirky cruises. If you’re not familiar with The Traveling Professor, I’m excited to introduce Steve to you. He’s a one-of-a-kind small-business owner and travel professional who is friendly, knowledgeable, and exceedingly well organized — all the right qualities needed to operate excellent small-group tours, both small-ship cruises and land-based trips.
Read our conversation below to learn more and see if a Traveling Professor tour is in your future!
QuirkyCruise: Who is The Traveling Professor?
Steve: I’m the founder of Small Group Tours by The Traveling Professor. I was a college mathematics professor who loved exploring the world in my spare time. I earned the nickname “The Traveling Professor” after sharing my travel tips, writing “The Traveling Professor’s Guide to Paris,” and being featured in The Wall Street Journal and at The New York Times Travel Show. Today, I bring my love of adventure and personal attention to every tour we operate.
QuirkyCruise: Why & how did you start The Traveling Professor?
Steve: It started with great travel notes — just like Arthur Frommer! I returned from trips with pages of tips and recommendations, and soon organizations began inviting me to speak about affordable, smart international travel. One talk led to another… and then people started asking me to take them on tours. That first small group trip was a huge success and today, thousands of travelers later, we still focus on the same thing: authentic experiences with personal service and zero travel stress.
QuirkyCruise: How has the business evolved over the years?
Steve: We began with small group tours to Paris and Italy. As traveler demand grew, so did our destinations — Norway and the Fjords, Iceland and the Northern Lights, Scotland and Ireland, and Peru & Machu Picchu.
In 2018 we introduced our first Croatia small-ship cruise, and have run over 18 of these adventures since then. And in addition to our deluxe small-ship Croatia cruises, we recently added “Christmas Markets” river cruises.
Further, because we now see solo women travelers making up 30–50% of our groups, we have designed our itineraries to be welcoming and safe for solo travelers as well as couples.
QuirkyCruise: What are your main specialties now — and looking ahead?
Steve: When it comes to regions, we specialize in:
>>Europe: Italy, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Croatia
>>Iceland & the Hunt for the Northern Lights
>>South America: Peru & the Amazon
For tour styles, we focus on:
>>Scenic rail journeys
>>Deluxe small-ship & river cruises
>>Culturally immersive city experiences
In terms of the kinds of travelers we cater to:
>>Small groups of 10–16 active adults for land tours, and about 30 travelers for cruises
>>Warm, comfortable itineraries for solo women as well as couples and friends
As we move forward, expect more scenic rail adventures, more festive holiday market cruises, and hand-picked boutique itineraries built around traveler favorites.
Steve's Top 3: Consider These Traveling Professor Small-Group Trips
Norway & the Fjords by Scenic Rail
- Land-based, with day trips by train and ferry, between Oslo & Bergen
- 4 Nights
- Departures in July & Aug 2026
Enjoy breathtaking rail journeys and dramatic fjord landscapes as we explore Oslo, Flam, Bergen and friendly Scandinavian culture. It’s one of our most scenic and traveler-favorite European adventures.
Iceland & the Northern Lights
- Land-based, day trips to/from Reykjavik
- 7 Nights
- Departures in March & Oct 2026
Search for the Aurora Borealis in the dark skies outside Reykjavik while discovering waterfalls, geothermal wonders, and Icelandic charm by day. A perfect mix of nature, culture, and wonder.
Tulip Time River Cruise
- Small-ship river cruise with AmaWaterways, round-trip from Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- 7 Nights
- Departure in April, 2027
Join Steve and Linda on their new “Tulip Time” river cruise, perfectly timed to experience peak bloom at the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens. Cruise from Amsterdam along storybook canals and rivers to charming towns, iconic windmills, and medieval gems like Bruges and Ghent. Enjoy exclusive pricing on a luxury AMA Waterways river cruise. Learn more about this Traveling Professor group tour here, including booking info.
READ MORE: Here's a review of a Tulip Time cruise from writer Kathy Rodeghier.
QuirkyCruise: Do you offer women-only tours or solo-only departures?
Steve: Most of our tours include a mix of solo travelers and couples, which creates a fun and friendly dynamic. We do occasionally offer women-focused departures when the demand is there, and we always work to keep single supplements low. Cruise departures often include cabin-share options or limited dedicated solo staterooms.
QuirkyCruise: Who leads your tours and where do you meet?
Steve: Every trip includes a dedicated professional tour leader who travels with the group from start to finish — someone who knows the itinerary, the culture, and our travelers.
Of our 15 to 20 tour departures each year, about a quarter are small-ship cruises. My wife Linda and I lead all the cruise tours, as well as several of the land tours. When we’re not personally leading, we rely on a small team of experienced leaders who share our high standards of care and attention.
Groups generally meet at the destination rather than flying together, but all transfers, arrivals, and daily logistics are fully managed. We keep group sizes intentionally small — 10–16 travelers for land tours and about 30 for our small group cruises.
QuirkyCruise: What are the benefits of traveling in a small group with a leader vs. booking a trip on your own?
Steve: Traveling on your own can be rewarding — but a small group with a professional leader adds tremendous value.
Benefits of small-group, guided travel:
- Every detail is handled — no stress, no guesswork.
- A friendly group to dine and explore with.
- Priority access to the best guides, rooms, and experiences.
- A leader who solves problems before you even know they exist.
- The right balance of planned activities and personal free time.
- Safety, comfort, and confidence — especially for solo travelers.
- We think one of the most significant benefits of traveling with our groups is that you can be sure the group shares your interests and values.
- We travel with active adults (no children), everyone is from the United States and Canada, and you can expect a high level of quality and customer service.
The only downside?
Once you experience this level of ease and camaraderie, it’s hard to go back to doing it all yourself.
QuirkyCruise: Finally, why choose The Traveling Professor and not a group tour with a company like Tauck, Trafalgar, Globus, Road Scholar etc?
Steve: We’ve thrived for nearly 20 years because we still do things the right way. Our travelers always come first. We provide truly personal service — no call centers, no runaround — just prompt, thoughtful responses from people who know you and your trip. We take the time to make sure every traveler is fully prepared, understands exactly what to expect, and feels confident that we will deliver the tour they signed up for. We’re not a massive company like Tauck, Road Scholar,or Globus — and our travelers appreciate that. Our smaller size allows us to offer the attentive, high-touch service that sets us apart.
Hope You Enjoyed Learning More About Small Group Cruises & Tours with The Traveling Professor!
If you’d like to learn more about small group tours, we’re happy to connect you with Steve Solosky. He’ll get back to you right away and help you book one of his small-group trips or point you in the right direction if you’ve got questions.
Please show your interest below.
Are You Interested In A Small-Group Tour?
We're happy to recommend The Traveling Professor to our dear readers. Owner Steve Solosky specializes in small group tours catering to 10-16 active adults for land tours, and no more than about 30 travelers for cruises. His tours offer a friendly, comfortable setting for itineraries geared to solo women as well as couples and friends; all trips focus on authentic experiences with personal service and zero travel stress.
Steve and his business partner and wife Linda bring their love of adventure and personal attention to every tour they operate, whether in Europe exploring Croatia, Italy, Norway, Iceland, Scotland or Ireland, or to locales like Peru and the Amazon in South America.
To show your interest in booking a small group cruise or tour with The Traveling Professor, please tell us a bit more about what you’re looking for and we will be happy to get you both connected.
* Your personal information will be used solely for purposes of responding to your request.
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HEIDI SARNA
How very cool! Great story about how someone turned their passion into a successful venture. So nice to have real experts with a passion for their work offering up these kinds of tours. Thanks for sharing this.
Couldn’t agree more, doesn’t get more authentic and personal that small-group tours run by passionate travelers like Steve & Linda!